Jumia

Friday, 15 July 2016

Arms Scandal Report not Doctored – FG

The Federal Government has said there is no truth in the insinuation that the
report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment
Procurement in the Armed Forces (2007-2015) was doctored for whatever reason.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said what has been released so
far is the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015, adding that
the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon
as the necessary documents are available.

''When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010
are available and scrutinized, the committee will then issue its report on that.
The audit is being done on phases, and the report that was released on Thursday
is the third of such,'' the Minister said.

He assured that the Federal Government's anti-corruption
fight is non-discriminatory, and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as
events unfold.

''No one should attempt to distract from the seriousness of
the issues involved in this audit of defence equipment procurement. It is
important to note that even though the total amount spent for procurement and
operations within the period were N185,843,052,564.30 and $685,349,692.49, the
irregularities in the awards ensured that the military did not get value for
money, with very serious consequences,'' the Minister said.